Manchester United's midfield rebuild continues under Michael Carrick. After already adding Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans during the summer transfer window, the Red Devils have shown that they aren't done by securing the signature of Brighton's Carlos Baleba. The 22-year-old midfielder has excelled with the southern side, helping the club qualify for the UEFA Conference League, and now he'll be expected to bring a similar steady presence to the United midfield as they pursue their own Champions League dreams.
The Cameroon international will join United after showing that he's Premier League-ready with Brighton, where he was not only strong coming into tackles and winning the ball, but he also showed that he's an excellent dribbler to turn defense into attack. When United were unable to break down Hull City in their opening-day loss of the season, that's something that is needed in the squad, and he could bring it. Last season with Brighton, there was the issue where Baleba would get into good positions but struggle to set up his teammates to make the best out of them, but alongside Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha, he'll have dynamic players who he can pass the ball off to as United get their attacks going.
Carrick will still want better passing than what he was able to produce last season, but considering that he scored four goals and grabbed two assists in all competitions during the 2024-25 season, the true Baleba is likely somewhere in between that. It has been a rapid rise for the midfielder since leaving Lille in 2023 to come to the Premier League, but after two seasons at Brighton, including one where he was a starter in the Europa League, United feel that this is a good next step in his career. With a whopping fee of up to £70 million for his services, that shows the belief that the Red Devils have in his potential at the club after what has already been an expensive summer of midfield arrivals.
Here's analysis of the transfer and how all parties involved will fare now that the deal's complete. On the surface, signing three new midfielders feels weird for United, but then you look at the roster. To deal with Champions League commitments, an entire refresh was needed.
Heading into the season, Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte are injured, while Toby Collyer and Tyler Fletcher are academy kids who are coming into their own but not ready for big minutes. That leaves Carrick with Fernandes, Santos, Baleba, Tielemans, and Kobbie Mainoo as his only midfielders with true senior squad experience. Competing in the Champions League, a squad needs to, at a minimum, go two deep at every position, and that's something that adding Baleba helps United do.
The issue is that with such a fee spent here, it feels like one of he or Santos are going to end up on the bench for most games. Long term, that may not be an issue considering the age of both midfielders, but it's a lot of investment in a midfield without any improvement to a defense or left wing position that desperately needs it. Having a strong midfield is quite important to success, and if Baleba can help United boss games, no one will worry that Harry Maguire is still anchoring the center backs three games from now, but when alarm bells are ringing elsewhere, United's transfer activity hasn't done much to address them.
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